Golf club cover

ABSTRACT

A flexible plastic cover for a golf bag and clubs to protect the same from the weather. The cover is a tube formed of a flexible plastic film that has an open lower end, a pair of notches on one side, and an opening at its top end which is covered by a flap.

1451 Aug. 28, 1973 Rainieri [5 GOLF CLUB COVER 3,620,276 11/1971 Taylor 150/52 0 [76] inventor: Joeeph V. Ralnleri, 3404 State St.,

Nonh Canmn 4472] Primary Examiner-Donald F. Norton [221 Filed; No 1 197 AtmmeyVern L. Oldham, Edwin W. Oldham el al.

[21] Appl. No.: 199,931

[57] ABSTRACT [52] U.S. CI. 150/52 G [51] Int. Cl A631) 55/00 A fl ibl plastic cover f a lf bag and dubs to [58] Field of Search 150/15 R, 1.5 B, tea the same from the weather, The cove, is a tube 150/15 C1 52 52 G formed of a flexible plastic film that has an open lower end, a pair of notches on one side, and an opening at [56] References Cited its top end which is covered by a flap.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,985,212 5/1961 Dozier ..1so/s2c1 11Cla1ms,4DrawlngFlgures l 5 i so PATENIEBM28 ms FIG. 2

JOSEPH V. RAINIER! aux/w MM.

FIG. 3

ATTORNEYS GOLF CLUB COVER Various cover arrangements for golf clubs and golf bags have been proposed in the past. These arrangements, however, have not found wide acceptance. Many of these earlier covers are difficult to place on the golf bag and use zippers or other fasteners. Also, many of the prior covers make it difficult to remove a club from a bag or place one in the bag without completely removing the cover. Also, the prior covers tend to be relatively bulky even when folded flat and thus require a considerable amount of space for storage.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a cover for a golf bag and the clubs contained therein which may be easily placed on the bag and which does not materially affect access to the bag.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a golf bag cover which does not require the use of zippers or other fastening members.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a golf bag cover which, when not in use, may be folded into a compact article which is easily stored.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision of a golf bag cover which is of attractive design and is transparent to permit the golfer to see the contents of his bag.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a golf bag cover which may be inexpensively formed of plastic sheet and which is durable.

The above and other objects of the invention which will become apparent in the following detailed description are achieved by providing a golf bag cover in the form of a tubular flexible plastic cover which is open at its lower end so that it may be slipped over a golf bag, the cover having openings on one side to permit the golf bag carrying strap to project through the cover and having a flap covered opening at its upper end to normally cover the top portion of the golf bag but which permits access to the bag without removing the cover.

For a more complete understanding of the invention and the objects and advantages thereof reference should be had to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings wherein there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the golf bag equipped with the cover of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of the golf bag cover, the cover being flat to show the details of construction; and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are fragmentary sectional views taken along the lines 3-3 and 44, respectively, of FIG. 2.

A conventional golf bag is shown in FIG. 1. As is well known, these bags are of generally cylindrical configuration and have a closed bottom and open top for receiving a number of golf clubs 12. The bag has a carrying handle strap 14 which is provided at its ends with snaps for engaging rings 16 and 18 mounted on one side of the bag 10. The cover 20 of the present invention is designed to fit over the bag 10 to protect the bag and the clubs carried therein from the weather.

The construction of the cover 20 shown in greater detail in FIGS. 2-4. The cover is formed of a length of tubular flexible plastic material 22. The tube 22 may be formed in any convenient manner. For example, extruded seamless tube may be employed or separate plastic sheets may be sealed together along their edges to form the tube. In any event, the tube is open at its lower end 24 so that it can be slipped over the top of the golf bag 10. Preferably, the tube or sleeve 22 is of sufficient length as to fully cover the golf bag 10. At its upper end the tube 22 is provided with an opening 26 and a flap 28 which covers the opening. It will be noted that the opening 26 does not extend to the edges of the tube. Preferably, the opening 26 is smaller than the diameter of the golf bag 10 so that the top of the cover 20 does not slip down onto the bag. The opening 26, however, is sufficiently large to permit easy access through the cover 20 to the bag 10. A pair of notches 30 and 32 are provided on the side of the cover 20 to expose the rings 16 and 18 of the golf bag 10 even when the cover 20 has been applied. If the cover is to be used on a bag carried in a cart, the openings 30 and 32 may be omitted.

As will be seen from FIGS. 3 and 4, the flap 28 consists of an extension of one wall 22a of the plastic tube or sleeve 22. This extending portion 28a is folded over the upper end of the opposite wall 22b and a heat seal seam 34 is formed across the overlapped sheets. The upper end of the wall 22b is notched, as indicated at 36, with the notch extending only along the center portion of the wall. The notch 36 is of sufficient depth to be below the heat seal seam 34 and thus provides a slotlike opening 26 at the top of the cover 20.

It should be noted that the flap construction of the present invention provides both and easily accessible opening through the top of the cover and a reinforced construction. It will be noted that there are no snaps, zippers, or other fasteners required. Rather, the flap 28 serves to fully cover the opening while still permitting access through the opening by lifting the flap. Preferably, the flap is substantially longer than the depth of the notch which forms the opening. For example, the flap may be six inches in length while the notch 36 extends a depth one quarter inch from the heat seal seam 34. A longer flap may be used, if desired. Also, since the notch does not extend the full length of the flap, the end portions of the wall 22b are held fixed and tend to keep the notched center portion in its closed position. A typical construction is one in which the width of the flap is 20 inches and the end portions of the wall 22b are each 4 inches leaving the center opening of 12 inches.

The flap construction also provides a reinforced top edge for the cover since along the side portions of the top there are three thicknesses of plastic sheet joined together in the seam and in the center portions there are two thicknesses. This continuous seam 34 extending across the entire top of the cover 20 provides reinforcement at the area of the cover which is subjected to stresses and does so without making the upper end of the cover bulky.

It is contemplated that the cover 20 may be made of transparent plastic or colored plastic, as desired. Also, printed matter may be provided on the cover. While in the illustrated embodiment, the flap is not provided with any fastening means, it is contemplated that a suitable fastener, such as a molded zipper, may extend across the flap to secure the flap to the body of the cover.

While only the best known embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail herein, the invention is not limited thereto or thereby. Reference should therefore be had to the appended claims in determining the true scope of the invention.

I claim:

l. A cover for a golf bag, comprising:

a flexible plastic sleeve open at its lower end and having a slot-like opening at its upper end and a flap covering the slot-like opening, the slot-like opening extending transversely across the sleeve and being of lesser width than the sleeve.

2. The cover according to claim I wherein the flap is attached to the sleeve along a line immediately above the slot-like opening, the flap extending the full width of the sleeve and being of a length at least several times greater than the depth of the slot-like opening.

3. The cover according to claim 1 wherein the width of the slot-like opening is approximately 60 percent of the width of the sleeve.

4. The cover according to claim 1 wherein the slotlike opening is centrally located relative to the side edges of the sleeve.

5. A removable golf bag cover, comprising: a flexible plastic sleeve adapted to be slidably received over the golf bag, the sleeve being of sufficient length to at least substantially cover the golf bag, the lower end of the sleeve being open, and the upper end of the sleeve having a flap formed by doubling one wall of the sleeve over against the opposite wall, the opposite wall having a slot-like opening immediately below the fold of the flap.

6. The golf bag cover according to claim 5 wherein the slotlike opening is of lesser width than the flap, the flap extending beyond either end of the opening.

7. The golf bag cover according to claim 6 wherein a heat seal seam is formed across the top end of the sleeve, the one wall of the sleeve, the flap and an unslotted portion of the opposite wall being connected by the seam.

8. The golf bag cover according to claim 7 wherein the seam is continuous across the top of the sleeve.

9. The golf bag cover according to claim 7 wherein the length of the flap is substantially greater than the depth of the slot.

10. The golf bag cover according to claim 5 wherein the sleeve is provided with a pair of spaced openings for permitting a golf bag carrying strap to be attached to the bag.

11. The golf bag cover according to claim 5 wherein the sleeve is a seamless tubular plastic member. 

1. A cover for a golf bag, comprising: a flexible plastic sleeve open at its lower end and having a slot-like opening at its upper end and a flap covering the slot-like opening, the slot-like opening extending transversely across the sleeve and being of lesser width than the sleeve.
 2. The cover according to claim 1 wherein the flap is attached to the sleeve along a line immediately above the slot-like openIng, the flap extending the full width of the sleeve and being of a length at least several times greater than the depth of the slot-like opening.
 3. The cover according to claim 1 wherein the width of the slot-like opening is approximately 60 percent of the width of the sleeve.
 4. The cover according to claim 1 wherein the slot-like opening is centrally located relative to the side edges of the sleeve.
 5. A removable golf bag cover, comprising: a flexible plastic sleeve adapted to be slidably received over the golf bag, the sleeve being of sufficient length to at least substantially cover the golf bag, the lower end of the sleeve being open, and the upper end of the sleeve having a flap formed by doubling one wall of the sleeve over against the opposite wall, the opposite wall having a slot-like opening immediately below the fold of the flap.
 6. The golf bag cover according to claim 5 wherein the slotlike opening is of lesser width than the flap, the flap extending beyond either end of the opening.
 7. The golf bag cover according to claim 6 wherein a heat seal seam is formed across the top end of the sleeve, the one wall of the sleeve, the flap and an unslotted portion of the opposite wall being connected by the seam.
 8. The golf bag cover according to claim 7 wherein the seam is continuous across the top of the sleeve.
 9. The golf bag cover according to claim 7 wherein the length of the flap is substantially greater than the depth of the slot.
 10. The golf bag cover according to claim 5 wherein the sleeve is provided with a pair of spaced openings for permitting a golf bag carrying strap to be attached to the bag.
 11. The golf bag cover according to claim 5 wherein the sleeve is a seamless tubular plastic member. 